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Fifth Sunday of Lent

Today we celebrate the Fifth Sunday of Lent. Today’s readings paint God as intimately connected to us. He forgives our evildoings and remembers our sin no more. God became flesh in Jesus, who knew the suffering of the human condition and draws us to the Cross. He learned obedience through suffering. To obey means to listen. Jesus learned obedience by listening to human experience and had new ears to hear God’s voice. United to Christ we are to listen to His voice and live as He lived and love as He loved. As we draw ever closer to Holy Week we hear once again that life will have its trials, but in Christ we are assured that the trial is not our final future.

This weekend at our 10:00am Mass our R.C.I.A. candidates will undergo the third and final ‘scrutiny’ as they journey toward the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil. In the three Lenten scrutinies the Church prays for them, and invites us to also pray, that our elect be given a spirit of true repentance, a sense of sin, and the true freedom of the children of God. Please remember our elect in your prayers this Lent, James Bosnick, Gabby Gaubert, and Wayne Hand.

I want to keep you updated on the boiler. This past week we completed installation of the new boiler for the school and passed inspection. While we were able to utilize the boiler from a parish in St. Charles at a huge savings to the parish, the total cost of this project was $29,336. If any parishioners or friends of St. Luke’s would like to help defray the cost of this stewardship project we will gladly accept your donations either directly or through the monthly maintenance envelope in your packet. The completion of the boiler project totally depletes our current savings.

Today I also want to communicate to our parishioners that St. Luke Parish has entered into a long-term agreement with Our Lady of Lourdes for shared use of McMahon field. OLOL will pay an annual usage fee along with 50% of the costs for utilities and maintenance. In addition, OLOL will be making several capital improvements to McMahon Field over the next few years including an irrigation system, replacement of backstops, and others that our Men’s Guild agreed on. St. Luke’s will ALWAYS own McMahon Field and will still conduct our various sports programs.

On March 3, 2018, Pope Francis decreed a ‘new’ feast to be inserted into the Roman Calendar; the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church. From this day forward, all dioceses and parishes will celebrate this Feast on the Monday following the Solemnity of Pentecost. This year, the Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church will be celebrated on May 21st. This new feast of the Blessed Mother is NOT a holy day of obligation (opportunity), simply another opportunity to recognize Mary as watching over her Son’s Body, the Church. Some have asked about this new feast and I wanted to be sure you knew.

It’s hard to believe, but next Sunday is Palm Sunday. Lent came early this year and will soon give way to the great events of our salvation. This year the solemn Mass of Palm Sunday will be at 10:00am, (with two Gospels). We will celebrate the Triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem with a procession inside Church. The following week is the holiest week of the entire year as we recall the great gifts of love given to us by our merciful God. The final Mass of Lent will be on Wednesday. Thursday begins the Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Please note there will be NO masses or services on Thursday and Friday morning here at the parish. On Holy Thursday, the Chrism Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral-Basilica at 10:00am. Our commemoration of the Lord’s Supper will be at 7:00pm. Mass concludes as we enter the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus to begin His Passion. Church will remain open for adoration until 10:00pm. On Good Friday no masses are celebrated in the Church in commemoration of Jesus’ Death. Simple Stations of the Cross will be held at 3:00pm. Confessions will be heard immediately following. (This will be the final opportunity for Confessions before Easter.) The Celebration of the Passion of the Lord with the Veneration of the Cross and distribution of Holy Communion will be at 7:00pm.Holy Saturday the Church waits in Vigil for the great celebration of the Lord’s victory at the Easter Vigil. This Mass, the Mass of all masses, will be at 8:00pm. I am happy to announce that David Byrne and choir will be present for all of the Triduum. Masses on Easter Sunday will be at 8:00 & 10:00am.